Visit These ‘Raiders Of The Lost Ark’ Travel Locations This Summer

Thirty-five years ago, a rogue adventurer/archeology professor named Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) burst onto the silver screen. While carefully taking a sacred gold statue from the depths of an ancient temple, he also managed to steal the hearts of movie goers everywhere. Created as a collaboration between George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, Indy would go on to spawn three sequels, a short-lived TV show, and countless side adventures. After 35 years, Raiders of the Lost Ark still stands out as one of cinema’s all-time classics. Of course, no adventure epic would be complete without some globe-trotting, so for those of you who are Indiana Jones obsessives and those who are just looking for a cool trip somewhere in the name of adventure, here’s a rundown of the filming locations you should make it a point to visit.

La Rochelle, France

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When Spielberg needed to recreate the look of a WWII-era U-Boat base, he went straight to the source: the docks at La Rochelle, France, which were used by the Nazis throughout their occupation. The submarine used on set, which was rented from the set of Wolfgang Peterson’s Das Boot, was actually in use throughout the Second World War.

That same port is still a popular tourist attraction for the town of La Rochelle, located on the west coast of France. The town fancies itself a welcoming, lively city, boasting architecture from the 17th & 18th centuries. It also offers several museums, boat rides, the La Rochelle Aquarium, and its two remarkable towers — the St. Nicolas Tower and the Tower of the Chain — on either side of the port entrance.

Kauai, Hawaii

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Standing in for the jungles of Peru in the film’s elaborate opening sequence was the island of Kauai in Hawaii. Indy’s frantic escape from the massive boulder was filmed nearby at the Huleia National Wildlife Refuge, a 241-acre protected region to help preserve Hawaii’s wetlands and endangered waterbirds.